Commercial aircraft landing gear have traditionally included doors that open and close wheel wells within the undercarriage of the aircraft. Typically the doors move along axes situated parallel to the forward-aft axis of the fuselage of the aircraft in order to achieve their deployed (open) and retracted (closed) positions. Because the doors have substantial width and depth, such positioning, particularly while deploying and/or when opened, places them well outside of a typical boundary layer area associated with the aircraft undercarriage. As a result, the doors may create substantial and undesirable drag loads during slower flight, such as when the aircraft is being configured and positioned for landing.
Thus, there may be opportunities for landing gear door designs that more effectively reduce aerodynamic drag and interior cabin noise during flight. In addition, there remains a continuing need for reduction of physical weights of landing gear doors, as well as of associated actuator mechanisms that open and close such doors. Reductions in weight and drag can generate efficiencies that promote increased range and payloads of aircraft, as well as reductions in operating fuel costs.